LOFW Props

Back in the day, when I first began writing food articles, I barely had props. What do you need props for? Photo shoots. Once you finished writing and testing your recipe, it’s time to have it photographed. And to photograph a photo you have to style it for the camera. The styling of a photo can make or break a reader's decision if they will try the recipe or not.

A small part of the collection. You never know which glass is needed for the perfect photo.

Here and there I had couple of bowls and cups from leftover Purim Mishloach Manot, but a prop closet? It wasn’t even the plan…

So how does one shoot 15 dishes a day without much props? Luckily at that point in my life I lived in a townhouse in a row full of more townhouses. And so I went prop shopping. White round plates from one neighbor, forks from another, and I could always rely on fabrics as backdrops from my friend down the block. To fill in the rest of my missing props, I set myself a budget and headed to my nearest Home Goods to find discounted items.

Dress up or dress down, you can never go wrong with basic white dishes.

But as with all things, the appetite grows. Close to a decade has passed, and our photos have become more stylish. Sometimes you find such fabulous prop...you end up creating a recipe just so you can use it in a photo.

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About the Author

Leah Schapira is the bestselling author of Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking. In 2010, Leah launched cookkosher.com, the popular online kosher recipe exchange. Her cookbook career began at the age of 21, when she wrote her first cookbook as a fundraiser to begin channeling her passion for recipes. Leah is also a monthly columnist for Whisk, the popular kosher food magazine published by Ami Magazine, where readers appreciate her humor and wit. She has been featured in The Washington Post, The Star Ledger, and The Blue Lifestyle, among many others. When she's not writing cookbooks Leah enjoys traveling the world with her husband and children.